Weekend Update: John Cusack Channels Poe; 3D 'Battle of Midway' Set

Oh Lenore. John Cusack will star as Edgar Allan Poe in 'The Raven,' a fictional thriller in which the literary genius joins with a detective to track down a serial killer terrorizing Baltimore in 1849; the action takes place during the last few days of Poe's life. The twist: The killer uses Poe's stories as the backdrops for his murders. The project, which will begin filming in Serbia in late October, is being directed by James McTeigue ('V for Vendetta,' 'Ninja Assassin'). According to HeatVision, 'Raven' had been in the works for awhile, with Joaquin Phoenix and Ewan McGregor previously in talks to play Poe and Jeremy Renner attached as the detective (though that role is open again as Renner will now be doing 'Mission" Impossible 4').
Oh Lenore. John Cusack will star as Edgar Allan Poe in 'The Raven,' a fictional thriller in which the literary genius joins with a detective to track down a serial killer terrorizing Baltimore in 1849; the action takes place during the last few days of Poe's life. The twist: The killer uses Poe's stories as the backdrops for his murders. The project, which will begin filming in Serbia in late October, is being directed by James McTeigue ('V for Vendetta,' 'Ninja Assassin'). According to HeatVision, 'Raven' had been in the works for awhile, with Joaquin Phoenix and Ewan McGregor previously in talks to play Poe and Jeremy Renner attached as the detective (though that role is open again as Renner will now be doing 'Mission" Impossible 4').

With Sunday night's Emmy Awards likely to honor HBO's World War II drama 'The Pacific' as the year's best miniseries (it already won seven Creative Arts Emmy Awards last week), DeadlineHollywood has reported that Warner Bros. has bought 'The Battle of Midway,' a pitch by 'The Pacific's' co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna. The project, envisioned as a 3D outing (with a $200 million price tag), will be fast tracked by the studio with McKenna expected to turn in a script in eight weeks, according to Deadline.